Another Universe, Another Life
by elvesdragon
Summary: Spock and Kirk are together. But they have not reached the same level of epic Spock Prime has described. But it is alright. After all, it is another universe and another life. But when Kahn happens, everything is turned upside-down. Star trek Into Darkness, Spock and Uhura never happen in my mind, and slash.. mild slah, but slash nonetheless!


**A.N. **So... I have watched Star Trek Into Darkness. And this little thing popped up in my head.

**WARRNING**! THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS! And also it is my first time writing Star Trek. So yeah!

**Disclaimer**: Riiiiiiiiiiiigggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhttttt! Sure I own it! All those three gorgeous boys belong to me and me only! In my dreams, maybe!

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They are not blissfully happy. They aren't even very happy. But they are both content. They have each other, and it's nice. Jim will always be his friend. Having had no one by that point, Spock is content to have Jim. And if their relationship is not the epic one that his alternate self depicted, well... It is another universe all together. Another universe, another life. The physical relationship with lieutenant Uhura ends after he rejoins the Enterprise. And a new one begins, a few weeks later, when Jim is unhappy, and he comes to Spock's door. He apologizes. For everything, for not being fast enough, for not being able to help Spock more, for saying all those horrible things about Spock's mother. And Spock forgives him. He had forgiven him the moment he had touched Jim's neck and tried to choke him to death. The moment he felt all the emotions that the young cadet held inside. The pain that he forced away in order to save a planet from a madman.

But the missions keep coming. And Jim and Spock start having arguments. Over regulations.

"Why did you not leave me?" Spock asks, after being almost burned in the heat of the volcano.

"Would you have left ME?" asks Jim. And Spock knows that he would have not. After all, Jim is almost everything to him. No, they are not blissfully happy, but they have each other. And still, Spock needs to send the true report to Admiral Pike. He knows Jim will get in trouble for it. He even thinks Jim will loose the Enterprise. And if that stabs in the heart, he still does it. It would be better for Jim. Yes, he is smart. Yes, he has a way of getting out of no-win scenarios, but sometimes, it is almost too painful for Spock to see it. Because he is sure that one of those away-missions will end up with Jim in sickbay, unmoving and McCoy unable to do anything to bring him back. And Spock thinks that love is not supposed to hurt like this. Love is supposed to be gentle and soothing.

And then, they are back on Earth. They are summoned to HQ, and they get the dressing-down he feared. he senses Jim's betrayal. He senses it through the tentative bond that had formed between them. And if the bond feels much weaker than what Older Spock described, it is another universe and another life.

"Get out!" says Pike. And Spock leaves. He does feel Jim's emotions, though. He feels the betrayal, again, and then shock, confusion and then... nothing. Jim is no longer with him, in his mind. He has half a mind to burst in there and demand Pike to let him be part of the conversation. But just as he makes up his mind to just barge in, property be damned, Jim comes out. And his eyes are empty, he doesn't even acknowledge Spock and just leaves.

Pike calls him in again and tells him to wait for his next assignment. "His", not theirs. He tries to find Jim, even goes and contacts the doctor, but McCoy says that when Jim doesn't want to be found, he won't be.

The next few hours, Spock will stay in his quarters, and try and meditate. He almost succeeds, when the call comes. They are to assemble. He thinks that he will have to talk to Jim then, because surely, Jim will also be there. And when he does see Jim again, dressed in his uniform, and calls out to him "Captain", Jim tells him that he is no longer captain. That he was demoted, and that he is First Officer, and that Spock had been reassigned. And Spock almost reaches out for Jim, to hug him, to soothe him. But he stops himself, as his new captain (and how can he call another by that title, when his only Captain is and will always be Jim) interrupts them. They sit across from each-other in the conference room. And Spock fights the urge to gag, when he sees the devastation in London. And Jim is again there, in his mind, soothing him, like he never left. And Spock is content. And suddenly, Jim cries for them to clear the room. And all hell breaks loose. Pike dies in his arms, in his mind. He feels whatever the former Admiral feels at the moment of his death. And it is very much like what he felt during the destruction of Vulcan. And then, the ship attacking them explodes and he feels contentment surge through him, though it is not his. Jim has managed to destroy the ship. He has saved lives. And, although he feels proud of Jim, Pike's death is still in his mind. Jim kneels next to him, and he checks, fruitlessly, for a pulse. He sees Jim cry for the second time in his life. And he has the sense that Jim mourns for more than just a captain, beloved as he was, or a friend. He mourns for his father, for the man that has taken him under his wing, the man that forged Jim as he is now.

They receive their orders and Spock is appalled by the cruelty that wells up in Jim's mind. He would willingly kill a man. But, on the bridge, Jim changes the orders. He is again in control of his emotions and he makes the right decision. The next day feels like so many years. They meet Kahn. And Spock cannot think anything else besides "This is the man responsible for so much death. This man will be trialed and condemned. But it will not bring back all the people he has killed." And still, Jim is willing to talk to him. And jealousy like he has never felt before wells in Spock. But he bears it, bears it with the same stoicism that is expected from him.

But when Jim is trapped on the USS Vengeance, with Kahn, he feels anger again. Anger like he has only ever felt once. But he can still sense Jim, faint, but still there. And he and the doctor manage to trick Kahn. Too late, though, as Kahn teleports Jim back, only for him to die. But Jim saves the ship. At the cost of his own life. And Spock has to feel another die in his mind. But this time, he feels is infinitely deeper. And maybe the bond was just as strong, because he feels his soul ripped apart. And the cry that escapes him is just as feral as that of his warrior ancestors. He goes after Kahn with so much darkness in his heart that he does not even know he has melded with the criminal until he is already in his mind. And what a fascinating mind it is. But Spock shoves the thought away. Because Jim is dead, and by this man's hands. And Pike is dead too. And the Earth was almost destroyed by this madman. And suddenly, Uhura is there. Like an avenging angle, and she stalls Kahn enough for Spock to incapacitate him. But as his knuckles brush again and again against Kahn's skin, he feels. He feels the anger, so much like his own, he feels the grief for a supposedly lost crew, he feels. And then, he takes Kahn back on the ship. And for two weeks, he sits by Jim's side, and marvels in the bond that had sprung back to life in the back of his mind.

When Jim awakens, he's there. And they are happy. For the first time in their lives, they are happy. All the bad blood between them is forgotten and forgiven.

But Spock still thinks of Kahn. And he goes to see him in his cell. Kahn is calm and composed, not a hint of the maniac that almost destroyed Spock's life.

"Ah, commander Spock. How nice of you to visit me!" he says, in that accented voice. And Spock feels again. He feels another bond has formed.

"Your crew..." he begins, but does not finish, for Kahn is suddenly in front of him, snarling. And Spock can't help but think he looks like an ancient drawing that he had seen as a child, a drawing of a dragon.

"YOU killed them, commander!" he snarls. "You killed them. There is nothig else to be said about it!"

"They are still in their crio-tubes" Spock says, then turns around to leave. But the bond in the back of his head stops him. It is like an insistent tugging. Spock turns around, and, for the first time, he sees Kahn serene.

"Then they are safe!" he says, and closes his eyes in peace.

Spock wants to say that he would never harm a living being, but that would be lying. He wants to say that he did it for Jim, but that would also be lying in a way. For he did it for Kahn too. And he knows that the sentence is going to be carried out. And he also knows that Kahn will be frozen again. And suddenly, Jim is in his head '_Not if I can help it!_' he projects. And Spock believes him.

They are in Jim's quarters. And they regard each other like they are all three wild animals, about to jump at each other's throats. But, in the end, Jim smoothes things over:

"So, you got yourself linked to Spock?" he asks, and Kahn rises an eyebrow and nods.

"I am truly sorry, Jim..." Spock begins, but Jim waves him off. He is studying Kahn and then, just like that, Spock feels all the restrictions he has ever placed on the bonds that tie him to these two extraordinary man snap and reform themselves. And he is no longer alone in his head. And now, now they are happy, blissfully so, to be together, even Kahn, who is most reluctant to share this joy. And maybe the relationship is not as the one described by Older Spock, but this is another universe, another life. And Spock wouldn't have it another way.


End file.
